Had to get this one out of my system....

When Trees Bleed, 24 x 24, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I'm a Midwesterner by birth; raised in the flat plains of Central Illinois where the wheat and soybeans and corn often stretch as far as the eye can see - and well beyond the curve of earth's crust. To this day, I'm convinced that my early impression of so-much-sky is for me the ultimate symbol of what landscape is. The photograph below is one of many taken on a trip "home" a couple of years ago.

I had rounded a curve coming off the interstate when I glanced over and saw this little row of very green trees standing as sentinels in the triangle between onramp and interstate . My immediate thought was that the trees had bled onto the grass. My second immediate thought was that the trees had dropped red leaves in June...

My third immediate thought was that I had to photograph these guardians of red phenomena. By then I had realized these were poppies - and that it was the angle of my approach that magnified the intensity of the red. There was no way to (safely) capture just what I had seen from my van - but the image was imprinted on my memory and I've known I had to reproduce it. Thus the title comes from that first impression and my own commitment to the trees of our earth. We cut them, burn them, destroy them and replace the diverse species with concrete, blacktop and genetically engineered facsimiles. Do they not bleed? Do they not bleed for us?

Keepin' on... and a squirrel tale...

What's this? My latest painting? My latest subject? No to all three questions. This little dear is my most recent rescue. Driving back from the plant wholesaler, I spotted the squirrel hunched up on the double yellow lines of the two-lane highway. From her (?) posture, she might've already been dead - they usually are if hit by speeding motorists. But she might possibly be just stunned and about to be finished off by the next busy cell phoning driver swerving over the no-passing lines. Traffic was doing 60-ish so I slowed to look closer, passed and turned around. I parked in an adjacent driveway, grabbed a thick towel and waited an eternity for passing traffic to thin. I ran out and as I scooped her up, saw she was breathing - and that there was blood on the road under her bowed little head. (You can see the affected area on the side of her face in this photo.)

She spent the next few hours wrapped in the towel, shocky and barely moving. The best thing for an animal in shock is dark and quiet - especially when there is no veterinarian available. Later, at home I put her in my still empty collage studio room with bedding and water - and I attempted to give her a tiny bit of Pedialyte to combat dehydration. I still thought she would die at that point.

Two days later, she was scuttling about the small room and eating shelled nuts and apple bits. Her face was terribly swollen on the impact side and I feared she would lose the eye.

By the fifth day she was able to climb into the windowsill. You can see the injured side here, and while the swelling was way down, and the eye improved, she began intermittent circling, and was knuckling on her front paws - clear signs of neurological damage. I feared she'd never be able to be released.

But amazingly, she continued to improve, eating and moving better and better, and by the end of a week I no longer saw her circle or move in an abnormal way. I began to think about releasing her way up on the back of my property, well away from my cats and dogs - and the established squirrel population in my yard. (Squirrels are quite territorial and will fight an interloper.) Problem was, I needed to put her where there were good sources of food or where I could continue feeding her, as she'd have no food buried from the year before nor would she know where to find new sources until she acclimated.

I made two mistakes. One was opening the window, the second was underestimating her desire for freedom!

Glancing out my front door two days ago, I saw a squirrel in the pear tree just outside. That's not unusual in the early morning, as they come to grab a few bits from the bird feeders. But it wasn't early morning - and something about this squirrel was "off" a bit. I thought it must be checking out "my" squirrel lady who likes to sit in the windowsill not eight feet from the tree. I went outside and looked over at the window - and there was the freshly chewed hole of escape. The squirrel in the tree was my little rescuee.

I rounded up all the cats and Freda (a notorious squirrel-chaser) and then watched as my former charge explored the pear tree, then ran to the very large oak across the driveway. Keep in mind, I had never tried to tame or handle her (more than necessary for Rx) so I was happy to see she was moving away from me and the house.
She stayed in the oak for some time, and I made sure she watched me place food (nuts and slices of apple) for her to eat or store away. Each morning I replenish the supply - and though I've not actually recognized her(she has some fur missing from part of her tail), someone is gnawing open the nuts and taking the apples. I've not heard any squirrels quarreling, either, so for now I'm assuming she's doing fine out in the big world. At least she'll not run the risk of highways and speeding autos here.


And some great news!!!

I sold one of my large paintings at the Sautee-Nacoochee Gallery yesterday!!

Selling paintings is a mixed blessing. I'm so fond of this painting I wish I could keep it - but dang, I sure need the money. I hope the buyer will like it as much as do I.

Blue Yonder, 35 x 36, acrylic on deep cradle panel

I framed one!!

Life is really getting in the way of art these days. I finally finished this large (30 x 36) acrylic painting.
It's not as if the composition is all that complex, but for some reason, the background just would not settle. I couldn't even bring myself to post my progress as it was a mess - and an embarrassment of murky shapes and strokes that just weren't working. I learned a great deal by pushing through the bad stages and forcing myself to paint and rework until it felt "right." Not sure where those backgroung colors came from - the terra-cottas and rusts are quite a departure for me - but I'm happy with the results.

And here it is framed:

It's painted on Masonite which I've found to be a really good surface for acrylics. Masonite is inert, and will not bleed through paint, though I use a heavy gesso ground anyway. I found the huge ornate frame (originally an off-white color) complete with the panel at a Habitat thrift store. Glued onto one side of the panel was a horrid reproduction of some famous painting that I'm certain is wonderful in its original state - but I could tell that instead of just cardboard, there was a reusable painting surface. Jackpot! (I'm always appalled that people will pay hundreds of dollars for crappy reproductions when there are so many wonderful originals out there in every size, style and price range.) Frames like this are incredibly expensive, and I was thrilled when they only asked $10!!

I could use some help with the title. I happened to finish this just in time for the newest show at the Sautee-Nacoochee gallery and I was trying to come up with just the right title as I drove up to deliver it today. I decided on someting and put it on the card but I must not have chosen a very good one - as by the time I arrived at my next destination, I'd forgotten what I wrote down!

When I arrived at the gallery with my moos (heh) I found this note: It says: THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR PATRICE'S COW. I cracked up. My cow had reservations.

You see: yesterday I went to pick up paintings from the last show and deliver some new work. I happened to have the then unframed bovine painting with me and the gallery director said he'd like to have it for this show if I could bring it this morning. He measured the painting including the large frame to be sure it would fit on the display panels. There was a crew hanging the show, but a great space was reserved for "Miss Moo" as this is the panel that faces the entryway to Gallery II. (Thank you, Jim!)

Here are a few more of my paintings on display this month. The color is off somewhat here, but as it's a show about spring florals and seasonal color, I'm letting it slide.

other folks' artistry...

I have a large painting in the works, but it's too rough to show yet. So instead, I'm posting some things I came upon while working at my temporary job for y'all to see. I just had to share these!

For Wizard of Oz fans like me...

I found this wonderful tin can man in a small yard in a small town. He's about 6 ft. tall.

And look here! There's also a tiny tin man (about 14 inches high) adjacent to the big tin man!

And spring colors abound in a hands-on house...

I met a delightful Mennonite family who were decorating their newly built house with faux finishes they created themselves. These cheerful colors just sing "spring" - and each of the family's five children contributed hand printsfor the central border.

Here's another of their finishes - a soft color wash in pale greens

The sad news for the week is that the client who contracted the mural for their River House's foundation called to postpone or perhaps cancel the mural due to the economy. It's not definite one way or the other as of yet. I did get a deposit, and I've already visited the site twice, taken photographs, worked up the drawings, and submitted them for approval to the clients. I won't refund the deposit at this point, as it will cover the work done to date, but I will honor it if they have the mural done within the year.

I was counting on this job after the temporary census job was over (sigh). I will be bidding on a couple of art jobs this next week so all is not lost - and as I stated on my rabbit hole blog, My friend Carol and I will be investing some of the last of our monies buying plants and pots wholesale, repotting them artistically, and selling them at our shop/gallery space. We paint designs on the pots as well as add funky bits of wood and found objects to make each one unique. I'll post some photos next week. I need to thin my flag iris as it's taking over the tiny pond, so some of the posts will be little water gardens.